Buying a house? It pays to get a home inspection.

[Paper Roses]

Things are settling down now, my family has passed papers on their house in Indiana and the new owners are happy.

The house they make an offer on in Massachusetts looks great from the inside and at first glance on the outside.

Their offer was contingent on the results of a home inspection. What an eyeopener that is. I was asked to be there so I could help explain the results to my daughter.

The inspector uncovered lots of problems that no-one had seen like 2 holes in the roof, and a lot of water damage to the windows, sills, corner boards...things like that. He went with his lights, meters, poking tools etc all through inside and out. Even pointing out things that need to be done to prevent future damage, including the removal of certain trees.

A long e-mail report was sent to my daughter, son-in-law and to me. Pictures with problems highlighted and suggestions, including the notation to get estimates for repair. Some of the work needs a professional, much can be done by family. Inspectors can do the poking and prodding that buyers are afraid to do.

There was a choice of inspectors, one who would take pictures, one who did not provide them. Pictures are absolutely necessary. No-one will ever remember where the faults are without them. Especially this house as it has lots of sides and angles--and only some gutters. The lack of gutters was the main cause of the rot at the bottom of the corner boards.

The current owners agreed to fix the problems as they want to sell the house.

I was surprised at the cost initially but after seeing what was done by this company and what we all missed, it was worth every penny.

[cbayer]

1. Absolutely and agree that it is worth every penny.

It often gives you leverage for renegotiating the price or asking the owners to fix some things. I would never buy a house or a boat without a full inspection.

Thanks for sharing this.

[MajorChode]

2. I've done that for every home that I've bought and they have always paid for themselves

This includes a house I had built new. It's a very worthwhile investment if only for the peace of mind.

[safeinOhio]

3. Even after a purchase you might want

a home weatherization and insulation inspection done with a thermal imagining camera. The camera can virtually see thru walls for missing insulation, overloaded electrical, bad and leaking ductwork, as well as window and roof problem that can not be seen with the eye. It will also show water damage behind drywall that has not shown up yet. Insects and rodents are also captured with the infer red radiation camera. A well done inspection can actually determine how much money you can save with just a few tubes of calk. I would recommend an inspector that is independent and does not work with or for a HVAC, door and window or roof contractor, as they most likely will want to sell those services. Average cost can range between $200 and $350. Most older homes can save more than that the first year with just cheap fixes done by the homeowner. I've bought the equipment and am now taking some courses. I'm blown away by it all. You can go on youtube and watch it being done.

[Paper Roses]

4. Because my family is from out of state, they asked me to attend the inspection.

It was interesting to see how and where he looked and poked. I asked him if he was an independent in inspector and he said he was and somehow I think he wondered why asked the question. He works for his own company. My kids from out of state contacted him after the inspection and he was very helpful about reviewing the report with them.

A lot of the work that needs to be done was agreed to by the seller. I really think the seller did not know about the roof leaks. They are an old couple in their early 80's. I think they took offense at the inspection. Too old to understand that their palace(home) has problems. They built the house in 1980 and grew old with it. Many of the features are at the end of their life expectancy. Some of the problems were a surprise to me. Many of the windows had lost their seals. I don't think that should have happened but the owner is replacing the ones that are deficient.

I have told my daughter about the inspection you suggested. She thought it was a good idea but will have to wait until they actually move in. All their household stuff is in storage and they are now living in a Ramada Inn suite type arrangement and will be doing so until they pass papers and can actually move here.(May 24)

[ConcernedCanuk]

5. I did this for one woman and made a comprehensive list of defects

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However,

despite my warnings about a deteriorating foundation, mainly due to poor drainage around the dwelling; she elected to buy the property, but not address the problems.

Besides that, again ignoring my advice where and how to put in a wood-stove, she placed the wood-stove right above the weakest part of the floor beside the failing foundation.

Whomever installed the wood-stove for her, instead of supporting the stove underneath in the basement, merely shimmed up the floor above, the side of the stove where the floor is sagging(falling in)

If one gets a report

PAY ATTENTION to it.

[Paper Roses]

6. On the Purchase and Sale papers, all problems that needed

to be addressed were agreed to by the seller. I really think the old folks who owned the home were shocked at the amount of outside deterioration. It was all because of lack of gutters, rain splashing down, hitting ground, splashing up onto the corner-boards and some of the clapboards and rotting them. They agreed willingly to fix that and a few other problems. Some things, like the few missing roof shingles were so obvious that the owner had them fixed even before the papers were signed.

It was altogether a good experience with the inspector. My kids will listen and make sure things are done correctly. Papers will be passed May 24 and everything should be done. My son-in-law will be here already so he can check along the way.

One of the most important things to be attended to is the fact that all the windows were painted shut from the outside. The old folks used the air conditioning instead of opening windows when weather permitted. That is now addressed. This was a fire hazard.

I know that things could still go wrong but the kids will make the seller stick to the agreement. I'm sure they will anyway. They want to sell this house, they are in their 80's, built it themselves but are now anxious to downsize.

There certainly was a good bit that my family missed when we looked--twice. Somehow it feels like trespassing when you nosy around a house when the owner is still there but everyone should. No matter what size house you buy, it is a lot of money and foolish not to either renegotiate the price or require problems be fixed. Never ignore, that is just plain foolish.

[Jersey Devil]

7. Excellent idea but make sure the inspector is truly "independent"

Sometimes people are lazy or in a hurry so they let the real estate broker recommend the inspector. However, as a lawyer who does real estate closings I always tell my clients to speak to relatives and friends for recommendations since almost everyone has an inspection these days. I am not making any accusations, but it would be easy to understand why a broker would not want to recommend inspectors who were too "picky", resulting in a deal falling through.

I won't make a recommendation myself however after one occasion in which I did recommend an inspector only to find out he had gotten so busy that he was sub-contracting some of his inspections to less competent people.